China slams US comments over air defense zone dispute

China has told the United States to stay out of a territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea after Washington warned that China’s new air defense zone raises the risk of “misunderstanding and miscalculations.” Chinese officials have dismissed the U.S. comments as unjustified interference in what they say was their international right to put up the said zone.

American criticism of the air zone announcement is “completely unreasonable,” Col. Yang Yujun, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said on Sunday. The United States should stop taking sides on the issue, cease making “inappropriate remarks” and not send any more “wrong signals” that could lead to a “risky move by Japan,” he further added. Furthermore, Beijing has demanded that the United States respect Chinese national security, to stop making “irresponsible remarks” about the air defense identification zone and make “concrete efforts” for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, Yang said. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had lodged a representation with U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke asking the United States “to correct its mistakes immediately.”

Washington had continued to say that the latest Chinese move creates the risk of potentially dangerous miscalculations in the sensitive region, where Chinese and Japanese ships and planes have already been involved in tense encounters. “This unilateral action constitutes an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea. Escalatory action will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. “We have urged China to exercise caution and restraint, and we are consulting with Japan and other affected parties throughout the region,” Kerry said. The United States has thousands of troops stationed in Japan – and in South Korea – as part of its treaties with its allies.

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Guest

The Americans are biased. They can’t expect the Chinese to back off with their unfair stances on the Diaoyu Islands. Why did the Americans passed control of those Islands over to the japanese without consulting Taipei and Beijing in the first place? And they are taking sides.

Whirled Peas

Absurd! There was no reason for the US to consult Taipei and Beijing! It was a simple transaction between the US occupational forces and Japan. The US had occupied the islands after the war because they were part of Japanese territory. Chiang kai-Shek as the “Our Man in Asia” was well-aware of which territory Japan had to renounce and which was legitimate Japanese territory which should be occupied by the US. Although the US occupation returned much of Japan in 1952, they held onto Okinawa Prefecture to maintain a presence in Asia. The US decided to return the islands to Japan in 1972 after almost 30 years of occupation because upkeep was getting too expensive, and Okinawa was lagging behind in modernization. Very simple.

Polaris Silvertree

Honestly — what did China expect was going to happen with this action? If China really thought this through — they would’ve realized the pain/trouble this was going to cause — unless they are deliberately trying to instigate friction (which is certainly possible, but I think that is unlikely). The three most immediate countries (Taiwan, Korea, Japan) impacted by the air space are very nationalistic — PLUS you have the Philippines extremely upset with the Spratly Islands situation — and they are literally just over the horizon from this area. I mean this is a really bad move from China with no good outcome for anyone.

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